Cultural Data

There is a hunger among our clients for more and better data not only about their individual organizations but about their arts disciplines and the cultural sector as a whole. With respect to the sector, the Cultural Data Project has, since 2001, been perfecting tools that allow the gathering and reporting of reliable, longitudinal data. Working toward a national standard has enabled participating organizations to track trends and benchmark their progress through sophisticated reporting tools while helping researchers and funders at the same time. Another tool from the National Center for Arts Research at Southern Methodist University offers information on the finances, organizational health and community impact of the arts industry, utilizing an interactive, many-layered presentation. The effort to gather and present industry-wide data has made great strides and a recent and important publication provides a glimpse of the state of the effort. Chicago-based Slover Linett Audience Research convened a group of 11 leading researchers (including Alan Brown from our firm) to engage in an online dialogue about the current state of the cultural data landscape. The fascinating report is something anyone interested in the subject should review.